Matt Comstock (left) takes the temperature of a guest at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday. A spike in coronavirus cases in Florida and other states raised concerns in financial markets. Chris O’Meara/AP hide caption
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Chris O’Meara/AP
Major stock indexes opened up sharply higher, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 1,861 points amid spikes in new coronavirus cases in states that had reopened their economies.
The Dow was up more than 700 points, or nearly 3%, Friday morning and the S&P 500 gained about 2.5%. A day earlier, the Dow lost about 7% and and the S&P 500 dove nearly 6%.
The market’s volatility comes as a number of states, including Florida and South Carolina, reported surges in new coronavirus cases, raising concerns that a second wave will trigger renewed lockdowns and stall an economic recovery. Florida reported nearly 1,700 new cases Thursday — the biggest jump since March. South Carolina announced nearly 700 new cases, a record high.
The Federal Reserve issued new projections this week that unemployment would remain high through at least next year, which also weighed on the markets.
